Prototype Flew Friday In The Czech Republic

The prototype of Evektor's new EV-55M made its first flight from Kunovice airport in the Czech Republic Friday. The airplane was flown by Evektor test pilot Josef Charvát and military pilot Major Jirí Hána. The flight began at 1055 local time and lasted about 30 minutes. During the flight the EV-55M reached a speed of 125 kts and an altitude of 3500 feet. “The airplane behaved exactly as we supposed – it was easily controllable and promptly reacted to the control interventions," said Charvát.

The EV-55M is a military variant of the multi-purpose EV-55 Outback airplane, a high-wing, twin-engine, turboprop airplane designed to carry  9 - 14 passengers or 4,000 pounds of cargo at a cruising speed of 220 knots. The airplane is designed for operation from short, unpaved runways, possibly from high altitude airports. Evektor says it expects the EV-55M to be a viable replacement for older twin-engine piston airplanes with capacity for 6 – 9 passengers, and it hopes to be a successful competitor for single-engine turboprop airplanes.

The EV-55M airplane will be offered in 3 versions of cabin interior arrangement: passenger only, cargo only and combined version (combi version) having space for cargo located in the forward part of the cabin and passenger seats behind. Evektor says the time needed for conversion of the cabin interior between individual versions should not exceed 20 minutes.

This airplane project was initiated by Evektor company and Association of Aircraft Manufacturers in the Czech Republic in 2004. It was followed by establishment of the consortium composed of Czech aircraft industry companies and led by Evektor company. The project was, since the very beginning, financially supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic in form of a grant.

FMI: www.evektor.cz